Medicinal Dictionary (Robert James)http://www.alpennia.com/taxonomy/term/540/all
enLHMP #137d Faderman 1981 Surpassing the Love of Men I.A.4 Transvestism: Persecution and Impunityhttp://www.alpennia.com/lhmp/lhmp-137d-faderman-1981-surpassing-love-men-ia4-transvestism-persecution-and-impunity
<div class="field field-name-body"><p>In this chapter, Faderman reviews the historic and literary perception of women cross-dressing as men during the 16-18th centuries. She notes that women passing as men [or transgender men, although this framing was not typically used at the time the book was published] were considered a more serious issue than lesbian sex, as long as that sex was between “feminine” women. One difference was that sexual encounters could be framed as a transient amusement whereas passing women were engaged in a long-term transgression.</p>
<p>Beginning in the 16th century, English moralists railed against women appropriating individual male garments or styles, as in the pamphlet <em>Hic Mulier</em>. But in an era when clothing was, in general, strongly distinguished by gender, it was relatively easy for a woman to pass as male. Cross-dressing was not automatically associated with lesbian sex, even when it created the opportunity. Some autobiographical accounts of passing women, such as sailor Mary Anne Talbot, indicate they had no interest in female romantic attention. But when sexual activity was involved, penalties could be severe, up to and including death.</p>
<p>Faderman jumps back to the medieval period to contrast the story of <em>Yde and Olive</em> (where the cross-dressing Yde risks death for marrying Olive) and the real-life situation of troubadour Bieiris de Romans who addressed a love song to another women but who did not take on a male persona, either in text or life. Other examples of non-crossdressing women who received lenient responses to lesbian sexual encounters include Sara Norman and Mary Hammond in Plymouth colony (1649). But legal cases where passing women married or had sex with other women often resulted in execution, as in the case reported in 1566 by Henri Estienne, one in 1580 recorded in Switzerland by Michel de Montaigne, the German trial of Catharine Margaretha Linck in 1721, and the alleged Turkish example in the 1749 polemic <em>Satan’s Harvest Home</em>.</p>
<p>Although no executions are noted in England or America, similar cases made their way into sensationalist literature, as with Henry Fielding’s <em>The Female Husband</em>, which was based on the true story of Mary Hamilton. And if a passing woman married and lived a quiet, upstanding life--such as Mary (James) How in the mid 18th century, even later discovery might have no serious consequences. Even in countries where severe punishments were meted out, there is a suggestion that consequences might be lesser if deception were not an issue, as in the case of Henrica Schuria (told in Robert James’s <em>Medicinal Dictionary</em>) who had passed as a man to serve as a soldier, but whose sexual affair with a widow after returning home only merited whipping and banishment, perhaps because she did not conceal her gender and because a dildo was not involved. Similarly, the case of Anne Grandjean in Grenoble received a relatively light sentence for marrying a woman because she was thought to be genuinely in doubt about her gender.</p>
<p>The complex intersection of gender, sexuality, and class is noted in the case of Queen Christina of Sweden who was known for cross-dressing (although clearly not in order to deceive about her identity) and whose romantic/sexual interest in women was documented both before and after her abdication from the throne. At the other end of the social scale, actresses and other performers, such as Mary Frith in early 17th century England, and Mademoiselle de Maupin in late 18th century France could use crossdressing as part of their public persona, even in combination with sexual relations with women, and be given a pass, perhaps for not attempting a complete disguise, perhaps because of public support for their flamboyant presentations. Actress Charlotte Charke also received benefit of a forgiving public when her autobiography detailed crossdressing adventures and romantic encounters with women.</p>
<p>Of the many women who crossdressed to enter the military, Faderman notes Deborah Sampson and plays up the possibility that her flirtations with women while passing may have been evidence of lesbian orientation, despite her marriages to men both before and after her military service.</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-entry-type"><div class="label-above">LHMP entry type:&nbsp;</div><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-entry-type/chapter" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chapter</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-parent"><div class="label-above">Parent:&nbsp;</div>LHMP #137 Faderman 1981 Surpassing the Love of Men </div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-full-citation"><p>Faderman, Lillian. 1981. <em>Surpassing the Love of Men.</em> William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York. ISBN 0-688-00396-6</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-project-id-number"><div class="label-above">Project ID number:&nbsp;</div>137</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-project-id-letter"><div class="label-above">Project ID letter:&nbsp;</div>d</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-sub-reference"><div class="label-above">Sub-reference:&nbsp;</div><p>I.A.4 Transvestism: Persecution and Impunity</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-introduction"><div class="label-above">Introduction:&nbsp;</div><p>I don't have a lot of commentary on this chapter. It's a solid catalog of a number of commonly known examples of crossdressing and passing women from the relevant era, in particular those cases where lesbian sexual activity was either documented, accused, or suspected. The issue that makes Faderman's presentation the most dated for the reader today is the absence of any consideration of transgender issues, but I think it's important to consider how immensely that conversation has evolved since the 1980s. The discussion in this chapter reaches for some sort of nuanced understanding of the multiplicity of purposes and contexts for passing women, and the complex intersections between gender performance and erotic desire. As in much of the book, we seem to get the conclusions in advance of the evidence: that claiming male social prerogatives was more harshly viewed than romantic or sexual relationships between women. On the other hand, the evidence of this chapter--with its many examples of genital sexual activity between women--seems to undermine the larger thesis of the book which discounts such activity as a motivating force behind women's romantic friendships.</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-event-person"><div class="label-above">Event / person:&nbsp;</div><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/charlotte-charke" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Charlotte Charke</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/julie-daubigny-mademoiselle-de-maupin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Julie d’Aubigny (Mademoiselle de Maupin)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/hic-mulier" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hic Mulier</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/yde-and-olive" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Yde and Olive</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/henri-estienne" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Henri Estienne</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/mary-frith-aka-moll-cutpurse" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mary Frith aka Moll Cutpurse</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/female-husband-henry-fielding" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Female Husband (Henry Fielding)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/satans-harvest-home" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Satan’s Harvest Home</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/medicinal-dictionary-robert-james" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Medicinal Dictionary (Robert James)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/mary-east-mr-how" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mary East (Mr. How)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/mary-anne-talbot" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mary Anne Talbot</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/anne-grandjean" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Anne Grandjean</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/na-maria-bieiris-de-romans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Na Maria (Bieiris de Romans)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/catherina-margaretha-linck-catharina-margaretha-m%C3%BChlhahn" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Catherina Margaretha Linck &amp; Catharina Margaretha Mühlhahn</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/queen-christina-sweden" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Queen Christina of Sweden</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/journal-montaignes-travels-italy-way-switzerland-and-germany-michel-de" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Journal of Montaigne’s Travels in Italy by Way of Switzerland and Germany (Michel de Montaigne)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/sara-norman-mary-hammon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sara Norman &amp; Mary Hammon</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/deborah-sampson-robert-shurtleff" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Deborah Sampson (Robert Shurtleff)</a></div><div class="view view-lhmp-sub-entry view-id-lhmp_sub_entry view-display-id-entity_view_1 view-dom-id-aab9bcd9495b2d216895e448a742c972">
</div> <div class="field field-name-field-isbn"><div class="label-above">ISBN:&nbsp;</div>0-688-00396-6</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-blog-post"><div class="label-above">Blog post:&nbsp;</div>LHMP #137d Faderman 1981 Surpassing the Love of Men I.A.4 Transvestism: Persecution and Impunity</div>Sat, 08 Oct 2016 21:05:38 +0000Heather Rose Jones4584 at http://www.alpennia.comLesbian Historic Motif Project: #100b Donoghue 1996 - Passions Between Women (Chapter 1)http://www.alpennia.com/lhmp/lesbian-historic-motif-project-100b-donoghue-1996-passions-between-women-chapter-1
<div class="field field-name-body"><p>Chapter 1: Female Hermaphrodites<br /><br />
The combination of the phallocentric model of sex and a heteronormative model for desire contributed to an early modern fixation and anxiety about physical hermaphroditism. If an apparent woman desired another woman, and particularly if sexual activity were involved, it raised a suspicion of the presence of a penis, or at the very least of an enlarged clitoris capable of penetrative sex. While unfamiliarity with normal variation in the size of genitalia may have inspired some part of this idea, and true intersex individuals may have contributed in some way, the magnitude of this preoccupation can only be understood as representing social anxieties about female sexuality far more than anatomical reality. This model of female same-sex passion served, among other things, to portray lesbians as a physically separate and identifiable class, driven by anatomical destiny rather than desire.</p>
<p>Several Classical texts were available as models for the idea of hermaphorditism: Ovid’s “Iphis and Ianthe”, Martial’s Epigram 91, and Lucian’s fifth courtesan dialogue. (These have been touched on in other entries so they will only be referenced here.) English writers of the 18th century discussed these as ancient texts but also interpreted them in relation to contemporary figures and practices.</p>
<p>Beyond these classical references, most serious mentions of hermaphrodites occur as case histories in “medical” texts (often barely-disguised sensational titillation), of which an index is given here:</p>
<p>Nathaniel Wanley's <i>Wonders of the Little World</i> (1678) was a book of “curiosities” that includes a list of “magical” sex-changes, all but one being female to male. Wanley followed an older classical model that saw the newly-appeared organ as a sort of prolapsed vagina, often appearing due to trauma or violent activity.</p>
<p>Jane Sharp’s <i>The Midwives Book</i> (1671) takes note of women with an enlarged clitoris which is thought to lead to sexual deviance with other women. As is common in literature of this vein, the phenomenon is exoticized, being described as rare in England but common in places such as Asia or Africa. As with many of the other references to foreign examples, female genital mutilation is described as being a response to this enlargement.</p>
<p>Joannes Benedictus Sinibaldus (mid 17th century) translated among others by Richard Head as <i>Rare Verities</i> (1687) described enlarged clitorises as the result rather than the cause of “feminine congression” (sex between women).</p>
<p>The English translation of Nicholas Venette’s sex manual as <i>The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal’d</i> (1707) discusses “unnatural” sexual practices as a warning, as well as the acceptable ones the manual is intended to instruct in. He discusses the use of an enlarged clitoris in “vice” between women (citing “the Lesbian Sappho” as one practitioner), but is ambiguous as to cause and effect. He also lists five types of “hermaphrodites” with a range of variation in genitalia and functionality.</p>
<p>Thomas Gibson’s 1682 anatomy textbook takes as a given the existence of enlarged clitorises and their association with lesbian sex, as does John Marten’s early 18th c. treatise on venereal disease which cites him. The phenomenon is once again displaced into “exotic” locations such as Arabia, Ethiopia, Florida, and Virginia.</p>
<p>Richard Carr’s <i>Medicinal Epistles</i> (1714) notes the story of two nuns, examined due to suspicion, who were determined to have developed enlarged clitorises (presumably due to sexual activity) and were ejected from the convent, after which they took to living as men. But Carr dismisses the notion that size necessarily indicates “wanton practices” as he notes the enlargement may be seen in very young children and may, he asserts, be due to chafing clothing.</p>
<p>Anti-masturbation treatises such as <i>The Onania</i> (1708) saw enlargement both as a consequence of “self-pollution” and then as a means of enabling lesbian activity.</p>
<p>Several publications offer stories of a person originally understood to be a woman who, on official reconsideration of anatomy, was re-classified as male and required to wear masculine clothing. This reclassification may later be reversed with a corresponding required reversal of presentation. But desire as well as anatomy might be the trigger for such reclassification, as in the story of Anne Grandjean of Grenoble who, on confessing her desire for girls, was told by her confessor that she must therefore really be a boy and should dress and act accordingly.</p>
<p><i>The Onania</i> (an anti-masturbation periodical) included a “letters column” of the true confessions type. Among many rather formulaic examples, there is one purporting to be from a woman who, after having her mind expanded (he says “debauched”) by Martial, Juvenal, and Ovid, began enjoying a sexual relationship with her mother’s chamber maid and as a result developed an enlarged clitoris. Somewhat refreshingly, the persona of the letter seems rather joyful and unashamed of her history and, although she has left off her sexual practices due to the enlargement, is still living in an affectionate relationship with her former lover.</p>
<p>Giles Jacob’s <i>A Treatise of Hermaphrodites</i> (1718) clings to the “anatomy causes desire” model but believes that the well-endowed woman can only give sexual pleasure and not achieve it herself due to the lack of an ability to ejaculate. This last position is countered by several literary examples representing pairs of sexual women who alternate in providing gratification to each other. In the examples above, taking on a masculine social role has been mentioned as something imposed by authorities, but Robert James’ <i>Medicinal Dictionary</i> (1745) gives the example of Henrikje Verschuur of Holland who, impatient with a female social role, crossdresses and enlists as a soldier, later enjoying sexual relationships with several women who apparently were aware of her original sex.</p>
<p>Samuel Tissot’s <i>Onanism</i> (1766) focuses primarily on the evils of mutual sexual stimulation between women, but includes a somewhat unusual note on the emotional side: “Women have been known to love girls with as much fondness as ever did the most passionate of men, and conceive the most poignant jealousy, when they [the girls] were addressed by the male sex upon the score of love.” [Note that the relationship is being portrayed as an older jealous aggressor and a younger object of affection who evidently is receptive to the affections of both men and women.]</p>
<p>Literary texts that include the motif of either physical or metaphoric hermaphroditism include Anthony Hamilton’s <i>Memoirs of the Life of Count Grammont</i> (1713); <i>The Toast</i> (1736) a vicious satirical piece by William King against the Duchess of Newburgh after failing to prevail in a lawsuit against her; and more positively, Aphra Behn’s 1688 poem “To the Fair Clarinda, Who Made Love to Me, Imagined More than Woman”.</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-entry-type"><div class="label-above">LHMP entry type:&nbsp;</div><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-entry-type/chapter" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chapter</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-parent"><div class="label-above">Parent:&nbsp;</div>Donoghue, Emma. 1995. Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801. Harper Perennial, New York. ISBN 0-06-017261-4</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-full-citation"><p>Donoghue, Emma. 1995. <em>Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801.</em> Harper Perennial, New York. ISBN 0-06-017261-4</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-project-id-number"><div class="label-above">Project ID number:&nbsp;</div>100</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-project-id-letter"><div class="label-above">Project ID letter:&nbsp;</div>b</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-sub-reference"><div class="label-above">Sub-reference:&nbsp;</div><p>Chapter 1: Female Hermaphrodites</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-lhmp-introduction"><div class="label-above">Introduction:&nbsp;</div><p>Donoghue's texts is packed full of references to publications and quotations of relevant material. To a large extent, the best I can do here is to provide an index to the most significant ones.</p>
</div><div class="field field-name-field-event-person"><div class="label-above">Event / person:&nbsp;</div><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/anne-grandjean" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Anne Grandjean</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/jane-sharp" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Jane Sharp</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/dialogues-courtesans-lucian" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Dialogues of the Courtesans (Lucian)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/metamorphoses-iphis-and-ianthe-ovid" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Metamorphoses: Iphis and Ianthe (Ovid)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/memoirs-life-count-de-grammont-antoine-hamilton" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Memoirs of the Life of Count de Grammont (Antoine Hamilton)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/fair-clorinda-aphra-behn" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">To the Fair Clorinda (Aphra Behn)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/tractatus-de-hermaphroditus-or-treatise-hermaphrodites-giles-jacob" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tractatus de Hermaphroditus or a Treatise of Hermaphrodites (Giles Jacob)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/onania-or-heinous-sin-self-pollution-balthazar-bekker" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Onania or the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution (Balthazar Bekker?)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/wonders-little-world-nathaniel-wanley" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wonders of the Little World (Nathaniel Wanley)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/rare-verities-richard-head" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Rare Verities (Richard Head)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/mysteries-conjugal-love-reveald-nicholas-venette" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal’d (Nicholas Venette)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/thomas-gibson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Thomas Gibson</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/medicinal-epistles-richard-carr" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Medicinal Epistles (Richard Carr)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/henrikje-verschuur" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Henrikje Verschuur</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/medicinal-dictionary-robert-james" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Medicinal Dictionary (Robert James)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/onanism-samuel-tissot" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Onanism (Samuel Tissot)</a><a href="/lhmp/lhmp-event-person/toast-william-king" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Toast (William King)</a></div><div class="view view-lhmp-sub-entry view-id-lhmp_sub_entry view-display-id-entity_view_1 view-dom-id-ef854c7366bdb2e3c6bf9858cdc08212">
</div> <div class="field field-name-field-isbn"><div class="label-above">ISBN:&nbsp;</div>0-06-092680-5</div>Mon, 06 Jun 2016 02:02:33 +0000Import Admin3938 at http://www.alpennia.com